Federal Aviation Administration February 15, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Ugnu- Kuparuk, AK. Five Special Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) are being revised, and three Special SIAPs are being produced for the Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport. Adoption of this proposal would result in establishment of Class E airspace upward from 700 feet (ft.) above the surface at Ugnu-Kuparuk, AK.

This notice announces the availability of and request for comments on the report, ``Assessment of the Effectiveness of Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 88 Airworthiness Directives (ADs) in Preventing Ignition Sources.'' The FAA is making available this report, which supports its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Reduction of Fuel Tank Flammability in Transport Category Airplanes.'' The report can be found at the DOT Docket Web site, at https://dms.dot.gov, Docket No. FAA-2005-22997.

This notice announces a meeting to discuss various FAA rotorcraft safety initiatives and to gather any relevant information that will help to reduce general aviation rotorcraft accidents. This meeting supports the FAA's Flight Plan initiative to reduce general aviation accidents.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain McDonnell Douglas Model MD-11 series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires a revision of the airplane flight manual (AFM) to alert the flightcrew that both flight management computers (FMC) must be installed and operational. The existing AD also requires an inspection to determine the serial number of the FMCs; and follow-on corrective actions, if necessary, which terminate the AFM revision. The existing AD also requires an inspection to verify if a certain modification is on the identification plates of the FMCs; and applicable follow-on and corrective actions. This proposed AD would require installation of upgraded flight management computer software, which would terminate the existing AD. This proposed AD would also add airplanes to the applicability, including adding Model MD-10-10F and MD-10-30F airplanes. This proposed AD results from a report that the FMC does not acknowledge the pre-set glareshield control panel (GCP) altitude when profile (PROF) mode is engaged in descent mode. We are proposing this AD to prevent the un-commanded descent of an airplane below the selected level-off altitude, which could result in an unacceptable reduction in the separation between the airplane and nearby air traffic or terrain.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Goodrich Evacuation Systems approved under TSO-C69b and installed on certain Airbus Model A330-200 and -300 series airplanes; Model A340- 200 and -300 series airplanes; and Model A340-541 and -642 airplanes. This proposed AD would require inspecting to determine the part number of the pressure relief valves on the affected Goodrich evacuation systems, and corrective action if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report indicating that, during maintenance testing, the pressure relief valves on the affected Goodrich evacuation systems did not seal when activated, which caused the pressure in the escape slide/raft to drop below the minimum allowable raft mode pressure. We are proposing this AD to prevent loss of pressure in the escape slides/rafts after an emergency evacuation, which could result in inadequate buoyancy to support the raft's passenger capacity during ditching, and increase the chance for injury to raft passengers.

The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to all Boeing Model 747 series airplanes. The existing AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the top and side panel webs and panel stiffeners of the nose wheel well (NWW), and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would reduce the interval for certain repetitive inspections and remove a certain optional inspection. This proposed AD would also require replacing the NWW side and top panels with new panels. The replacement would terminate the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD results from the development of a new modification. We are proposing this AD to prevent fatigue cracks in the top and side panel webs and stiffeners of the NWW, which could compromise the structural integrity of the NWW and could lead to the rapid decompression of the airplane.

The FAA publishes a monthly notice, as appropriate, of PFC approvals and disapprovals under the provisions of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L. 101-508) and Part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158). This notice is published pursuant to paragraph d of Sec. 158.29.

The FAA proposes to rule and invites public comment on the application to impose and use the revenue from a PFC at General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport under the provisions of the 49 U.S.C. 40117 and Part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158).

The FAA is publishing this notice to inform hospitals and other health care organizations of its status as a ``public health authority'' under the medical privacy requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.